


Sweet Thing

by Daphnean



Series: Soo Saptember [24]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 14:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16088180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daphnean/pseuds/Daphnean
Summary: Yifan's got a high school crush on fellow teacher Do Kyungsoo. Their students have seemed to take things into their own hands to help them hook up.





	Sweet Thing

Yifan was allowing his students get a head start on the weekend’s homework while he looked over last period’s exams, when he heard a knock at the door. Looking up, he took off his reading glasses as Mr. Do from across the hall stepped inside. Immediately his heart did gymnastics with his ribs; his crush reminding him of the students he’d see sneaking notes or cozying up next to each other against their lockers.

The younger man looked smart in his navy button down and khakis, pushing his glasses up with his hand not holding a stack of papers. Careful not to disturb the students, he gave a quick wave to Sehun and Jongin before approaching him at his desk. “Hey, Yifan. Are you still going to switch with Chanyeol for lunchroom duty next week?”

“I plan to.” He slid a hand into his hair. “Did something come up?”

Kyungsoo’s smile, even when small, brightened his expression considerably. “Not really, just letting you know that Jongdae needed to switch too, so you’ll be working with me.”

Unable to hide how pleased he was at the venture, Yifan smiled as well. “Yeah? Thanks for the heads up. You like working on the cafeteria east side, right?”

“Yes, but I can work the west though, if that’s easier.” He shifted some papers around his hands. “Just throw me an email if you need anything. I’ll let you get back to grading. My kids are probably anxious too.”

Yifan waved his hand, as if to dismiss the thought he was bothering him. “I can always take it home, don’t worry about that. Your students on the other hand…”

Kyungsoo laughed softly, delight rounding his features. “Exactly. Have a nice weekend, Fan.”

“You too.” Yifan cringed at the way his voice sounded so wistful at the end, how his gaze stayed on the door long after Kyungsoo had exited the classroom.

Snickering from his right made him turn to his students. The culprits were, to no one’s surprise, Sehun and Jongin. Most of the others still seemed intent on their work, so he just raised a brow and gave them a look. “Something I can help you two with?”

“No, but I’m sure you’d help Mr. Do even if he asked you to hide a body.” Sehun grinned, twirling his pencil in his fingers, a playful twinkle in his eyes.

Yifan was caught between an embarrassed blush and paling mortification. “Are you implying he’s a murderer?”

“Hun, can you blame him? Mr. Do is just…perfect.” Jongin sighed; chin resting on his palm, his expression a dreamy smile.

Silently agreeing with his student, but also panicking with how to handle this whole situation, Yifan took a long drink from his water bottle. “Are you guys so ahead on your assignment that you have time to chat with me like this?”

Shrugging, Sehun continued playing with his pencil. “Mr. Wu, we’re like five minutes from last bell and Seulgi has been talking with Hwasa for the past ten. At least we’re not pranking you.”

“Just uncomfortably prodding you about your love life.” Jongin finished with a chuckle. “Why not ask him out next week after working lunch with him? Is there like a coworker dating policy?”

Yifan did not want this discussion with anyone, let alone his students. “No, but there is a students playing matchmaker policy.”

Jongin and Sehun both looked like they had something to say, but the bell interrupted them. Determined to interrogate him or not, they immediately were shoving their work into their bags. Relief flooded him as said his goodbyes to the class and wished them a safe weekend. He thought that would be that, but the same two troublemakers stopped in front of his desk, wearing matching smiles.

“Don’t think this is over, Mr. Wu.” Sehun slung an arm around Jongin’s shoulders. “We’ll help you get your man, matchmaker rules or not.”

Both boys made their way out, faces close together with conversation.

“Lucky me.” Yifan could only hope that something else would steal their attention before Monday came back around as his head fell into his hands.

\--

For how worried he had been that evening as he left from work, by the time Monday came back around, Yifan had nearly forgotten the conversation with his students. He’d visited his mom and some of his friends, making time nearly skip past until Monday morning.

It was a typical beginning to the week, students and faculty alike trying to dredge up the energy to be productive. Yifan was thankful for his coffee and the fact his second class of the day was watching a movie, which held him over until lunch duty.

“Good morning.” Kyungsoo greeted him, already in the hall as Yifan left his classroom.

Had he been waiting on him? The thought had Yifan like a bottle of champagne; fizzy and floaty. “Hey Kyungsoo. Your Monday going smoothly?”

The smaller man shook his head, keeping a steady pace as they walked towards the cafeteria. “Like trying to bathe a cat. First period was just not having it today. Second was marginally better, but I had a quiz and you would of thought I was asking for a kidney.”

“I’m sorry.” Yifan frowned, patting his back briefly. “Were they misbehaving too badly?”

Shaking his head once more, Kyungsoo smiled up at him. “Oh no, it’s nothing like that. A lot of lamenting and complaints, but they stayed good enough. Oddly Jongin and Sehun were a little too quiet. That certainly kept me on my toes.”

And that’s when the prior conversation crashed over him like a sudden thunderstorm. “Yeah? Maybe they had a rehearsal this weekend that they’re still recovering from?”

“It’s possible. I didn’t have time to ask.” Kyungsoo didn’t act suspicious, merely shrugging it off. “You still okay with taking the west side?”

Yifan was thankful for the change of subject. “Of course. It’s all about the same to me.”

“I just prefer the east because it doesn’t have those divider walls that I can’t see over easily. I get enough height jokes and I really don’t want to be at a disadvantage if a scuffle happens.” Kyungsoo ran a hand through his hair.

Tall privilege meant that Yifan had never thought of that before. “Oh that’s…a good point. At least the kids know you mean business. I think I’ve met pieces of cotton candy with more spine than me.”

“No one wants bones in their dessert.” Kyungsoo laughed, nudging him with his elbow. “It’s just my eyebrows and you know it. Or how I glare when I forget my glasses. I’m just as soft deep down. If you’re cotton candy, that means I’m…marshmallow fluff.”

“At least we’re sweet?” Yifan was downhearted at how quickly they’d made it to the lunchroom. “Well, here we go. Just let me know if you need help with anything.”

Nodding, Kyungsoo started walking towards the other side of the cafeteria. “Stay sharp, cotton candy.”

“You too, marshmallow.” Yifan gave him a wave, wishing that heart would stop doing cartwheels in his chest.

\--

Other than a few sneaky, teasing comments from Sehun and Jongin, the whole week went by without any Lady and the Tramp style spaghetti meals or falsely written love letters. Yifan had, foolishly, assumed he was in the clear.

Kyungsoo, as the two walked back from their last lunch watch together, had made a quip about how it had been fun working with him. Yifan had been over the moon the rest of the afternoon. As Friday classes began to draw to a close, while checking his emails, Chanyeol had sent him a message, asking if after class he could run into the teacher’s lounge and grab some sheet music for him. This was hardly new (Chanyeol misplaced things weekly, once even somehow forgetting a cello in the lounge) and Yifan agreed to grab them on his way out.

After wishing his students well, Yifan made his way down another hallway towards the breakroom. The lights were off and once he was inside, the door slammed behind him, clicking as it locked.

Spinning around, Yifan fumbled with the handle, jostling it before peering out the window. Sehun and Jongin both gave him thumbs up, before rushing off down the hall.

“Hey! You two are so getting extra homework next week!” They likely couldn’t hear him, but it at least relieved the frustration.

Someone clearing his throat made him jump and twirl right back around. Kyungsoo was sitting at one of the tables fashioned with a soft pink tablecloth alongside flowers and candles. A few plates of food and even a cake lined one of the nearby tables like a minature buffet. “So you’ve been roped into this too. Did Jongdae email you?”

Yifan’s entire thought process was utter panic. There was nothing subtle about this setup and Kyungsoo’s body language, tone, revealed nothing on what he was feeling. Swallowing, Yifan ran a hand through his hair as he stepped away from the door. “No, but Chanyeol did. They’re in on this?”

“This explains Oh and Kim’s recent good behavior.” Kyungsoo sat forward, resting an elbow on the table. “I’m so sorry, Yifan.”

Puzzled, Yifan took a few steps closer, lowering himself down into the seat across from his coworker. “You’re sorry?”

“I…I’m upfront about my feelings, usually, but since we’re coworkers I just…” Hand in his hair, he could see Kyungsoo’s nerves in how he tugged his lower lip with his teeth. “I told Jongdae about how I felt and somehow I must have been obvious to the boys…”

Yifan took far longer to realize what Kyungsoo was saying than he cared to admit, but as soon as the confession sank in, hope had him buoyant. He felt like he was floating on his back in a pool, warm sun on his face. His smile was so wide his cheeks hurt as he reached over for Kyungsoo’s hand. “If you have to apologize, then so do I. My crush was so obvious, I’m fairly sure aliens know how I feel…”

Kyungsoo’s laughter spilled out, brightening the dim room even more than the candles did. “And yet, I had no idea. They’re never going to let us live this down. Who needs high schoolers to set them up?”

“Chanyeol and Jongdae were co-conspirators.” Yifan reminded him, squeezing his hand.

The smaller man conceded that, squeezing his hand in return. “So is this your idea of a good first date? Dinner and candles?”

“If it’s with you…even the break room looks beautiful.” Yifan met his gaze, warm with his emotions and newfound confidence.

Kyungsoo’s cheeks dusted with pink like their tablecloth. “I’m the English teacher, but I don’t know if I have pretty words like that…”

Yifan didn’t know if his chest could hold all this joy, all this anticipation for what was to come for him and Kyungsoo. “Don’t worry. The next date won’t catch us so off guard, so maybe we can both think of more.”

Bringing his hand up to kiss his knuckles, Kyungsoo smiled against his skin. “It’s a date, cotton candy.”

“Oh, marshmallow.” Yifan was the one flushing now. “And you said you didn’t have any pretty words.”

**Author's Note:**

> And the last KriSoo over Saptember is finished. Today's my mom's birthday, so sorry I don't have more thoughts on this one. I've been doing my best to spend time with her and made her some birthday lemon bars. 
> 
> This was cute and, as usual, made me miss those lovely KriSoo moments we got from shows like EXO Showtime. I'm always happy for Yifan and his accomplishments, but these two together will always have a special place in my heart.
> 
> EXO and all other Kpop entertainers presented here are real people and so I remind you that this is just a fic, like a play with their stage personas as the actors. This is not intended to be a representation of who these men and women are or are not. Remember to love and respect them always. And thanks for reading! <3


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